First, I want to compliment you on the Fill-a-Pix app for iOS. The first version of it was excellent, and the new update, with the ability to get more puzzles as packs are created, is truly awesome! Even on the small screen of my iPhone, it's easy to use. I can see a similar model working for most of the other Picture Logic puzzle types (except Pic-a-Pix, for which zooming in on a section of the grid is rarely useful). I'm eagerly looking forward to the next puzzle type you make available on iOS (Sim-a-Pix, please?).

My question is, would it be possible to allow me to log in to my Conceptis account from the app and use Conceptis Credits to purchase puzzle packs, instead of charging them to my iTunes account? Of course, I recognize that there are really two questions here: one, would it be technically feasible for you to add that capability, and two, more importantly, do Apple's allow for such content purchases? I'm guessing, based on reports from other developers, that they would probably not allow you to make it possible in-app to purchase puzzle packs by any means other than via iTunes account. But it might be permissible to make it possible to purchase packs via the Conceptis web site and then have the app connect to my Conceptis account and download any packs I have purchased on the web site.

Is something that is under development, or has been considered and rejected?

Thank you for your compliments! It took us over a year to develop this first iPhone/iPad game and we are now making headway with the next game: Pic-a-Pix. This should go much faster since a large part of the development went into the universal platform. As for your question, we looked into the option of using Conceptis Credits but unfortunately this isn't possible as all purchases must be done via iTunes.

Not to beat a dead horse, but in the months since I originally asked this question, I've looked into some of Apple's in-app purchase policies and how various apps handle them. I have found that there are at least some apps where Apple does not prevent the developer from letting the customer make purchases of downloadable content through the developer's website, outside the app, and then connect to their website account from within the app to download the content into the app. In fact, this is the model that Apple is requiring Amazon and Barnes & Noble to use for Kindle and Nook ebook purchases, as those formats are not available to purchase via iTunes and so could not be reasonably accomplished via the standard in-app purchase process. This model allows a Kindle user, for example, to purchase Kindle ebooks through Amazon's website and have those ebooks linked to the user's Amazon account. They then log in to their Amazon account in the Kindle app, and all of their previously purchased Kindle ebooks are available to be downloaded directly into the app.

So if you were to add this purchase model to your apps, your users could use their Conceptis Credits on this website to purchase iOS Puzzle Packs for any of the games for which iOS apps have been released, and have them listed on the website as part of their website puzzle library, though of course not playable on the website because the players themselves operate so very differently. Then those users could log in to their Conceptis website account in one of your iOS apps and have the opportunity to download purchased packs of that puzzle type to the app's puzzle library. I see enough similarities to the model Apple is requiring of Amazon and Barnes & Noble that there's a good chance a successful argument for allowing this method could be made.

I completely understand if you don't want to reopen this issue—Apple has not been the most accommodating company when dealing with iOS app developers. I also know that making the rest of the puzzle types into iOS apps is a higher priority than adding new features to the apps already released, so this isn't something I would expect you to even consider acting on in the near future. I just wanted to share what I've found in case this is something you might want to put on the wishlist of future improvements to the series of apps.